Tripura rubbishes Ram Madhav’s claim on central funds

Agartala, March 12 (IANS) Tripura's Left Front government rubbished BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav's claim that Rs 1 lakh crore have been pumped into the state government over the past three years.

Madhav, addressing a public gathering here on Friday, claimed that the central government has given Rs 1 lakh crore to Tripura.

The Bharatiya Janataa Party leader also alleged that about 25 per cent of the central funds has not been spent in Tripura and a large amount of the funds is being used for increasing the ruling CPI-M's properties.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also addressed the public gathering, echoed Madhav's claim.

tThe state government in a release on Saturday night said that the state had received only Rs 21,407.63 crore during the past three financial years.

"The central fund of Rs 21,407.63 crore was received as a share of central taxes, and to the centrally sponsored schemes and central assistance to state plan," it said.

It added that the actual facts of central funding to Tripura were also communicated to Madhav and Sonowal.

"The statement made by Ram Madav ji is not true," the release stated.

With this official statement, the war of words between Tripura's Left parties and the BJP will get intensified in the upcoming days.

Talking to IANS, Tripura Finance Minister Bhanulal Saha said on Sunday that the Centre had stopped much of its aid and changed the sharing pattern for the centrally sponsored schemes (CSS).

This had caused Tripura a net loss of Rs 1,356 crore in 2015-16 fiscal.

"The Centre had even stopped funding under normal central assistance, special plan assistance and special central assistance. Besides, the fund flow under some major schemes was reduced by Rs 314.72 crore during 2015-16," Saha said.